i hate u, i love u
by The Darkness Consumes us All
Summary: What if Jump City needed a new team of Titans? Rated M because i honestly don't know if i'll set limits or not.
1. It all begins with a whimper

Pairings-

Nightwing/Starfire

Changeling/Raven

Cyborg/Bumblebee

Flash/Jinx

New Team

Azar Steve Logan (eldest son of Ch/Rae)

Marie Rita Logan (eldest daughter of Ch/Rae)

Kayla'nder Mary Grayson (eldest and only daughter of Star/Wing)

Lucas Barry West (eldest son of Fl/inx)

Celine Mary West (eldest of daughter of Fl/inx)

John Silas Stone (eldest son of Cy/Bee)

TT

As the morning sun shone on the abandoned T-shaped building, a small, dark portal opened and 4 people stepped out of it. There were two adults, a man with a deep forest green hair and complexion, who was following a woman with dark grey skin and long flowing purple hair. She looked around, and flashed a nostalgic smile at her husband.

"Oh, Gar…"

"I know, Rae." He said to her with his own weak smile. "Doesn't look all that different huh?"

"We're the only ones who changed, apparently…It's strange to see how far we've come since those days."

Raven locked her deep violet eyes with Changeling's dark green ones, and he pulled her into a hug. She somewhat laughed, and stared up at him.

"What's this all about?"

"I just can't believe it."

"Believe what?"

"That after all this time, all the fights we ever had, all the confusing and mixed signals, and even that one time we broke up; I still can't get over the fact that we've been married for 20 years. And this-" he said, waving in the general direction of the giant T, "This is where it all began."

Raven smiled again, and said, "You're a sweet, idiotic, goofball."

He winked at her, and said, "That may be true, but you're the one who said yes when I proposed. What does that say about you?"

"That even the most intelligent people make questionable decisions."

"Mmm." He grunted while leaning in to kiss her. She returned the favor, but as their lip-lock deepened, they heard a small cough behind them. They broke off, and groaned in response to the newcomer.

"You also forgot to mention that we've been 'blessed' with these monsters." Changeling said while putting up air quotes. Their daughter Marie smirked at them and said, "Now if you two are done mauling each other's faces," at this Changeling raised an eyebrow and Raven sighed, slightly blushing, "could you guys open up the place?"

He shook his head and said, "No, we're gonna wait for the others. Besides, only Uncle Dick has the override codes to open it."

She sighed heavily. "Darn it. I was hoping for first pick on the rooms."

Raven smiled, "too bad. Now, go help your brother with your guys' luggage."

"Kinda looks like he has it all under control."

The three looked at the oldest Logan child, who was floating his sister's numerous suitcases out of the portal. He was seated on a very large trunk which held his entire library. Whereas his sister needed 6 suitcases for uniforms and street clothes and 2 carry-ons for personal stuff, he had fit all his belongings in 3 medium-sized duffle bags. Even as he was moving their luggage, he was engrossed in his copy of Stephen King's The Shining. Marie gave her parents a mischievous smile, and began to creep up behind him. Azar was blissfully unaware of the danger as he was immersed the world of the Overlook Hotel. He had just reached the horrific climax of Jack Torrence smashing his own face in with a rouque mallet, his sister screamed in his ear,

"AZAR DON'T FREAK!"

He yelped, dropped his book and instinctively flinched, mentally shoving his sister into the nearest tree.

*WHACK*

"Ow…" Marie said in a very small and weak voice.

As he stood above his little sister, Azar just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"That, is what you get for scaring the crap out of me."

"Heh. Worth it to see the look on your face, though."

He shook his head again, and rolled his eyes as he helped her up. Changeling and Raven walked over, their mother having a small smile, while their father openly roared with laughter. Raven looked at her son proudly, and said,

"You've gotten better at multitasking with your magic. However, you need to tone down the instinctual backlash."

Azar rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

Changeling was still laughing. "Ha! If you knew how many times your mother magiked me to God knows-"

Raven suddenly slammed a hand over his mouth with a sharp glare. "Don't you DARE tell them about that time."

"Tell them about what time? 'Cuz I sure as Hell am interested in this!"

Both father's and daughter's face lit up at hearing the voice and went up to meet the large half black and half metal man staring down at the small family

"Uncle Stone!"

"Cy!"

"Hey, cute Grass Stain! Oh, and hello to you too, Changeling."

Marie giggled and hugged her favorite uncle while her father groaned. However it turned into a quick smile when his best friend crushed him in a hug. He turned to Azar and Raven and let them each initiate the separate hugs, knowing their indifference to physical contact. When it came to Raven's turn, she warmly embraced her old friend saying,

"It's good to see you, Cyborg."

"Yeah. What's it been, like 2 or 3 years?"

"Ever since the Christmas disaster, yes."

They both shuddered at the memory of the last time the whole team, plus their families, had gotten together at Nightwing and Starfire's house for the holidays. Starfire had decided that she wanted to cook for everyone; needless to say, chaos ensued. After she burned the salad, they had all called off the 'home-cooked meal', and ordered a pizza. Suddenly, a large black boy tackled the Logan siblings, saying,

"What's up, cousins?"

"John! Get off of me!"

"Aw, come on, Az! Show a little love!"

"You know he can't, that emotion is still in his mirror!" Marie said, laughing.

"What am I, chopped liver?" a new voice said.

"No, Aunt Karen." The brother and sister chorused. While John said hello to Raven and Changeling, Bumblebee chased Azar and Marie around, the whole time berating them.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?

"Until it isn't funny anymore!" they shouted back.

"It makes me feel old!"

Everyone laughed as she smacked the back of the two teens' heads. Without warning, two shrill screams were heard.

"Friend Raven!"

"AZ!"

Both son and mother looked fearfully at each other.

"Oh shi-"

They were both tackled ,sending Raven to the ground, and Azar flying into the air while the two attackers squealed and crushed them in a hug. Starfire had a hold of Raven, while her son was in the arms of the dark-haired Grayson child. Raven was trying not to scream from the pain, as Azar had his lungs crushed by his best friend.

He managed to wheeze out, "Yeah…good…to…see…you…too…Kayla…can't…breathe?

While Raven somehow choked out "Star…killing…me!"

"Oh, I am the sorry! However I have not partaken in the seeing of you in forever!"

Starfire said this while pulling them both up off the ground, meanwhile Kayla simply fluffed and messed up Azar's black hair while laughing.

"Yeah I agree Az! Why haven't I dragged you to someplace new lately?"

"Kayla'nder Grayson. If you touch my hair again, or drag me to another party or mall, I will END you."

"Sounds like my nephew needs to loosen up!"

A new voice joined in as Nightwing high-fived the guys and hugged the girls. Suddenly, 2 blurs appeared, and were already shouting at each other.

"I so won!"

"Easy, there squirt. No way you can beat your old man."

"Exactly my point! You're old, and past your prime!"

"Wally!"

"Lucas!"

While Kayla had called and flew over to her boyfriend, her father had walked over to the older Flash. He asked him,

"What was all that about?"

"Junior here bet me lunch for a month to whoever could get here first!"

"Well, technically, you're both late. So…no one really had a chance of winning."

Everyone laughed as the two had sour looks on their faces. A pink-haired woman walked up and put her hands on her hips. Jinx glared, and shook her head at her husband and son.

"You both got here at the same time, and left us all with the bags!"

Immediately, various items of luggage came into view, all which had come from the boat which was used by many of the families to get from the Jump city coast to the Titans' Island. Azar, who had been standing off and talking to Kayla, felt hands reach up and cover his eyes from behind. He allowed himself a small smile and turned around.

"Hey Cels. You know I hate it when people touch me, right?

"Oh, c'mere and stop being a butt!"

He carefully opened his arms to embrace her, but she simply burrowed right into his chest, and looked up while mock pouting.

"You didn't respond to any of my texts this whole week…or hang out with me…you mad at me?"

The last part was said with a little seriousness and worry, but he just shook his head.

"Nah, I've just been super busy with a lot of stuff lately."

"Jerk."

"Bitch…speaking of which, guess who got all seasons up to 12 on disc?"

"No way…I love you."

"Yep. Supernatural marathon this whole week."

"Am I invited, or are you two lovebirds going to have a Netflix and Chill?"

They both jumped and pulled apart at Kayla's sniggering voice, and both blushed.

"Oh, shut up Kayla."

"Cels! No need to be so rude!"

She said, winking as the three walked up to the doors to the tower, where everyone was gathering. Nightwing looked at the young men and women who were about to take the first step in their new lives as superheroes.

"Welcome to your new home…The Titans tower."

Without further ado, he opened the doors…which promptly fell in.

A nervous chuckle was heard.

"Not. A. Word." He warned.

TT

When they walked into the Tower, the youths decided to walk off and change into their uniforms which most of them had designed specifically for this. Azar had just clicked on his belt, when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." he called.

His mother walked in, and looked at him. He spread out his arms.

"What do you think?"

"Looks good. After designing both yours and your sister's, I still think you could have gone into fashion."

"Har. Har."

He replied shaking his head. She held out 2 boxes to him, one about the size of a FedEx box, the other as small as a jewelry box.

"Mom-"

She held up her hand and he stopped talking.

"I know Christmas is a month away, and your birthday just passed, but consider them housewarming gifts."

"…thank you."

"Make sure you open the big one first."

He looked at her, puzzled, but grabbed the larger one anyway, and tore off the wrapping.

"…Oh, wow…"

He pulled out a cloak, similar to his mother's, complete with the dark red stone clasp. However, where hers was blue, this one was black as midnight. As he put it on, his mother was explaining,

"It's enchanted to only fit you. It will also shift length and fit to accommodate your size if you ever grow."

"Thanks. Can I open the second one now?"

"Of course, while I'm still here."

He opened the smaller box, and saw a small copper circle, a remnant of a penny, which was attached to a simple leather cord. He then shot her a quizzical look. She smiled and said,

"Years ago, when the prophecy surrounding my birth came true, your father gave me that for good luck. I lost it when I opened the portal for my father, but he somehow found it again. I've come to think of it as an amulet for hope and new beginnings…also, it was the first piece of jewelry your father gave me."

They both laughed at this, but Azar shook his head.

"Mom, I can't take this…it means too much."

"It's because I means so much, which is the reason why I'm giving it to you. Also if you don't take it, I'll curse you."

He shook his head and put it on, smiling. She then shot him a sly look.

"You know, that was the first time I realized I had feelings for him…you could give that to Celine-"

"MOM!"

Raven just chuckled.

TT

As everyone walked into the main living room, they all surveyed each other's uniforms. Azar had his cloak with the hood flipped up, casting half of his face in shadow. He had thick black combat boots which went up to his ankles, and black fitted pants that resembled jeans, but allowed more movement. His top was also black, with the sleeves ending just above his elbows, and he wore fingerless gloves that ended at his wrist, with deep red stones on the back of his hands. His belt was a mix of his Father and Mother's, with a grey and black disc that clicked in and had similar stones such as those on his gloves and cloak going around his waist. Everything paired nicely with his black hair and light green skin. He had designed his sister's uniform to mirror their Father's new uniform, with white and purple blending with her green hair, which she had up in a ponytail. The sleeves, which went to her wrists, were purple, as well as the shoulders. The top accented her figure, and stopped above her stomach. She had light purple leggings with a stripe of white going down each of the sides. In addition, she had thin whit boots, which went over the leggings and stopped at the knees. She also had gloves with a bear paw on the backs of her hands, and for a fashion statement, added a pair of grey goggles to be worn around the neck or on the top of her head. Her clothes were made out of the same material as her Father's which allowed the fabric to melt into the skin when she changed shape. John was wearing a mix between an exoskeleton and armor. He had on thick silver boots, with shin guards leading up to thigh and waist armor. His torso piece was styled like a tank top, leaving his shoulders bare. He had on gauntlets which started from his elbows which extended into gloves that stopped after the first digit on his fingers. Throughout his armor, there was accents similar to his adoptive Father's tech, with blue wired pieces. He had tied his dreadlocks together to get them out of his face, and wore his own patented red glasses which was the same color as his Father's eye, and had many similar functions, as well as some new ones. Kayla had regular purple Converse High Tops on, with a purple fitted miniskirt, with burgundy leggings underneath. She wore a red long sleeve with a high mandarin collar, but her wrist to her elbow was covered by silver gauntlets similar to her Mothers'. Lucas was dressed in the traditional Kid Flash outfit, with red boots and gloves, and a yellow one piece suit and a red belt. His mask came up from his suit which only covered his eyes and the bridge of his nose. His top had a red lightning bolt with a circle inside of it, which matched his red hair. Due to their mixed parentage, however, both of the West twins had a wild streak of pink hair in their natural red. Celine was the last to walk in, who wore a black long sleeve with a purple shawl similar to her mother's over her shoulders. She had on leggings with purple, red and black stripes underneath a fitted burgundy miniskirt and her feet were covered in purple and black platforms. Azar admired Celine but Lucas openly stared at Kayla. Both, however could appreciate the girls without any trouble.

Nightwing cleared his throat and said, "Alright. We have two orders of business to take care of. Step forward and announce your codename, which you should have thought of by now. Also state your age so the Tower computer has both on file, and can recognize you."

All of them looked at each other, but no one stepped up.

Lucas decided to go first. "Kid Flash. Age 18."

Next was Marie. "Beast Girl, 16."

"Cypher. 18" John.

"Nightstar. I'm 17" Kayla.

"My name is Hex. Age 18" This was Celine.

Azar looked up, cleared his throat and said, "Crow. 19."

Everyone nodded, but then he also added, "We're the NextGen Titans."

As everyone smiled at the name, Nightwing said, "Time to take a vote as to who will lead the team. Both the new and the original team members will take part in this decision. With this information, you will all be part of a real team, and the tower computer will recognize this. That being said, I vote Kid Flash."

Starfire piped up. "I will also vote for Kid Flash."

Cyborg: "Nah. I'll go with Crow."

Crow looked up, shocked that anyone would vote for him. Even though there was one opposition, Kid Flash was still pretty excited about his two votes.

Bumblebee smiled at her nephew and said, "I agree. Crow."

Jinx voted for Crow and the new Flash (who had taken over from Barry Allen) voted for Nightstar. Both Changeling and Raven voted for Nightstar, and Crow and Nightstar inversely voted for each other. Beast Girl decided to vote for Nightstar. Hex voted for Crow, which only left Kid Flash with quite a problem. Should he vote for his girlfriend, or his favorite bro?

"Um…after some thought…I vote…Crow."

Everyone was in shock. That is, except for Nightstar. She walked over to Kid Flash, and while hugging him, whispered,

"Good choice. It should definitely be him over me."

Hearing this statement, Kid Flash realized he was safe, and released the breath he had been holding.

Crow, however, was already vehemently shaking his head. "No, No, No. It should be her, not me. She can be a way better leader than I can."

Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "Well, we voted you, so-"

"Yes and it was a mistake!"

"Not only are you the oldest, but also the most responsible. Not to mention the fact that you're probably the most powerful." He looked around at the teens. "No offence."

"None taken." They all spoke. He turned back to Crow

"You're a quick thinker, and a wise one at that."

"Any one of us is smart-"

"You've always been the bravest and strongest of us all, man." Cypher said.

"Technically-"

"Like my dad said, you super intelligent, plus you're fearless. You have a naturally confident and commanding attitude." Nightstar added.

"But-"

His father simply said, "The best leaders are those who have no desire for power." Astonished eyes turned to him, and he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Heh. Little quote from a government class I took years ago."

Everyone turned back to Crow, who looked like he still wanted to fight about it, but two looks, one from his mother, and another from Hex caused him to stop, facepalm, and heave a defeated sigh. On the opposite side, his actions caused his mother and friend to smile and high-five. Nightwing gestured for him to approach the computer/table interface. He did so, and at Nightwing's nod, placed his hand on the table. After a few seconds of nothing happening, he felt a searing pain on his hand. He withdrew it with a hiss of pain, and glared at Nightwing.

Nightwing explained, "The computer needed to input your fingerprint for the system. Also, to mark you as leader."

A sudden beeping was heard, and a flashing lit up button saying 'protocol i17A' appeared. Getting the message, Crow pushed it, which caused all the lights and power of the tower to switch off. At the teens' confused faces, Nightwing explained,

"Protocol i17A was a rebooting system I worked up with Cyborg and Batman. We had to learn how to build and run this Tower from the ground up, so your first act as a team, you get to do the same, and make this place habitable. Later!"

Suddenly, all the adults filed out with quick goodbyes and hugs. The new team stood shocked, and silence filled the room.

"Well." Started Cypher, "So much for putting on our uniforms. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm putting on work clothes."

They all laughed and shook their heads.

TT

They all regrouped in the living room again, and Crow started divvying up jobs.

"Alright. Cypher, I want you to go down into the basement and access the power systems to try and get it up and running. Beast Girl and Nightstar, I want you two to fly around and check out the outside of the Tower and check on any structural damage. Me, Kid Flash and Hex will walk around the Tower and survey the inside. Meet back here in thirty minutes tops, ok?"

Everyone nodded and walked off to start working. The three walked around, noting that there were 4 rooms, 2 guest rooms, as well as a studio/office space that was used by Nightwing for a room. They decided to put numbers in a hat for the order in which they would choose the rooms, when the day was over. Beast Girl and Nightstar noticed no structural damage, aside from a broken window or two, but they saw that there was a fair amount of overgrowth on the island itself. After very much clanking, small explosions, and lots and LOTS of loud swearing, Cypher got all the basic electrical systems up and running. They all reported back to each other, and decided to order pizza due to the kitchen not being up to par. Suddenly, an age old debate started anew.

Beast girl started with, "Let's get Tofu!"

Cypher snorted, and said, "Nasty. What we need is a meat lover's."

Beast Girl wrinkled her nose and said under her breath, "Animal killer"

"What was that?"

Crow miraculously shut them both up with a murderous glare. He then said, "We'll just get both."

"Let's get pineapple!"

Everyone turned and stared at Kid Flash, who had a sheepish look.

"What? I've always wanted to try it."

"Cheese, please" Hex piped up.

"Anything's fine with me, as long as I have my ketchup." They all shuddered at the thought of Nightstar's favorite 'beverage' . As Cypher was on the phone, ordering everything, Crow noticed an incoming face call coming on the computer. So he flicked it up to the big TV, answered it. They were then all greeted, and shocked, by Mayor Schemo's jovial face.

"Um, Mr. Mayor, this is a huge honor, sir." Crow stammered out as they all tried (keyword tried) to look nicer.

"Please, the honor is all mine. It is wonderful to meet the new team of Titans protecting our city. How are you all faring today?"

A mutter of "fine, thank you" was heard.

"Good! Now, down to business. As you all know, the government funds superhero teams such as the JLA, or the Justice Society, and so forth. Naturally, you are no exception." Eyes widened at this. "I am sending you the link for the number of the bank statement and arrangements. The balance currently in there will be your monthly salary. Any questions?"

Crow enlarged and opened it, and his jaw dropped. "Uh…Sir? There are six zeroes."

He immediately looked troubled. "Oh no! Is it too small? I tried-"

"No! Uh, sorry, sir I was just shocked! This is more than enough."

He smiled again. "Wonderful. If there is anything else, please, never hesitate to ask!"

Kid Flash spoke from the couch. "Actually, yeah. Do you know the best Home Repair Crew in Jump City?"

TT

Hey guys and gals! This is my first chapter of my first Fanfic! Hope you all liked it, feel free to review, and I'll answer any questions I can without giving away too many plotpoints!

See you next chapter-the Titans have their first training session…What could go wrong? Hold on tight!


	2. explanation

hey guys, I am so sorry it has been so stressful, I never really got back on my writing schedule after the Thomas fire, but after finishing up mock trial, a musical and my senior thesis, I'm finally able to come back to writing this story. expect a ne chapter in the next week or so!

I love you and please, review, or leave comments!


	3. Training Day

TT

As the sun rose over Jump City, it shined on the newly remodeled and refurbished NextGen Titans tower. All throughout the city, people were waking up, going to work or dropping off their kids at school.

Crow, however, was doing his best to ignore the inevitability of the day. Even though he never was a morning person, he seemed to be cursed with the ability to wake up early without meaning to.

To be completely honest, he hated it.

He groaned and slowly got out of the safety of the covers. It took him almost another five minutes to actually walk over to his dresser and put on a shirt. He always preferred to simply sleep in seats or basketball shorts, which were what he had on currently. He stumbled out of his room and had an addled thought about replacing the plaques labeling the door for the owner of the room. His still read "Raven", which still caused him to smile. It had been two days since the remodel had taken place, due to the crew the mayor had recommended, so they were able to move back in and divvy up rooms. Cypher had chosen the converted garage, Beast Girl had taken over her father's, and Nightstar moved into her mother's old space. Kid Flash took Nightwing's old room, whereas Hex was given a new studio space (which had the benefit of being specially made for her). This left Crow with his mother's room, to which he had no complaints. He walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove, but also started the coffer brewer, since he knew Hex would want some when she got up. As he got the box of Earl Grey tea out of the pantry, he heard a beeping come from the computer. He recognized the webcam I.D. and flicked it up to the TV screen to be greeted by Nightwing's smiling face.

He said, "Morning sunshine! Glad to see you're up!"

"Mmm. That makes one of us. What, did you put sensors to alert you when I got up?"

"Actually, little known fact, I the power to sense when a Titan is awake."

"More like you know we get up at the same time."

Nightwing laughed, and Crow rolled his eyes as he retrieved the whistling kettle and fixed his cup of tea. When he was finished, he settled on the couch for what he figured would be a 'check-up' discussion.

His uncle started with, "How is the structure of the Tower holding up?"

Good. We had the building redone with the help of the mayor's crew."

"Mhmm. Systems?"

"All up and running. No problems so far, due to the quality of our tech. Nice try breaking in though."

"Nothing like a pop quiz, eh?"

Crow rolled his eyes again and said, "Speaking of which, when are we cleared for active duty and missions?"

"Depends. When have you all trained as a team?"

"Today will be the first day or gym will be officially open."

"Good. Today is good."

Crow was too busy noticing that he really hadn't answered the question to see the mischievous glint in his uncle's eye as Nightwing ended the call. Crow sighed and ran a hand though his dark hair while he shook the last hint of sleepiness from his head. He felt someone flick his ear and realized Hex was up. She was the only person who had a strange fascination with his elfish ears, a semblance of his father's. This came along with her obsession over his 'David Bowie' eyes, what she called his violet and emerald set. He tried to tell her multiple times that the term was heterochromatic, but to no avail. He leaned his head back and looked at her upside down.

"Morning."

"Hey, Hex."

"What was that about? You look a little stressed."

Crow smirked at her. "That's just my face."

She stuck out her tongue, and saw that he remembered yet again to fix her coffee. "You spoil me."

"All for my favorite girl."

"I thought that was Arella?"

"You're right. I do love my little sister more than you."

She slapped his shoulder and mockingly called him rude while he rolled his eyes and they entered the kitchen. The sat and simply talked while they drank their coffee and tea, which was a tradition for them. As everyone slowly started woke up, they all filed into the kitchen and fixed themselves bowls of cereal or pieces of toast. When they were halfway through eating, Crow stood and cleared his throat for everybody's attention.

As his team stared at him, he started, "Good morning. So since today is the first day our gym is open-"

"Don't tell me we're working out today!" Kid Flash started to whine, but was shushed by Nightstar with a slap to the arm.

"Ow! Uh, I meant, great! We're working out today!"

Everyone grumbled and sighed, and Beast Girl reluctantly asked after groaning, "What's the plan?"

Crow smiled and evil drill sergeant smile, and proceeded to explain what was going to happen while his team grew more and more crestfallen.

So much for Beast Girl and Nightstar's trip to the mall.

TT

Everyone was wearing loose tank tops and shorts when they filed gym and was greeted by Crow who wore his usual slight scowl, but also had a gleam of determination in his eyes. They split into the groups they had decided this morning with the guys going to their first station and strength training with weights, while the girls worked on the treadmill and elliptical for cardio and endurance limits.

By the end of the first 40 minutes, all of them were dripping with sweat which had caused the guys to lose their shirts. This, in turn provoked a lot of flirting between Kid Flash and Nightstar. Similarly, Hex couldn't help but notice how supple and strong Crow's torso and legs looked. Apparently, Hex thought to herself appreciatively, his uniform hid a fair amount of muscle.

Suddenly, Nightstar sidled up to her, and said, "Enjoying the view?"

Hex jumped, but turned and glared at her. "Oh, shut up."

"Hey, all it takes is that one look to grow from friends to benefits."

Hex blushed and mumbled "We're just friends" while trying to escape Nightstar's laughter. Over on the other side of the room, while he was doing curls, Crow was slightly staring at Hex. He smiled slightly at her laughing and blushing at Nightstar, (even if he could not hear the conversation) and thinking how (though he would never admit) her good moods always made his day. Cypher took a break from bench lifting to just in time to notice what Crow was doing.

"Dude. Just ask her out already."

Crow almost dropped the barbell in his hand, "Wha-what? Who?"

Cypher grinned but said nothing, which caused him to earn a withering glare from Crow.

"Shut up."

Cypher just chuckled.

TT

After everyone had finally got through the grueling exercise plan Crow had devised, they all collapsed on the floor, they were so tired. They had no idea what to do so they just lay there gasping for breath, and Beast Girl spluttered out,

"(Huff)…Why…did…we…put…(Wheeze)…ourselves…through…that?"

They had been in the gym for hours, most of the day to be exact. As the sun was setting, they all slowly gained energy, Kid Flash suggested they get food, they decided to send some people into town for Chinese takeout. Crow, Hex and Nightstar volunteered, seeing as the trio of close friends hadn't hung out in a while. They changed into plain clothes, Hex wearing a white hoodie and blue jeans, while Nightstar opted for a purple tube top with a light cream colored jacket and navy leggings and Crow looked a bit classier with a dark blue button down and black jeans. He summoned a portal, which whisked them away to the middle of the city. He planned to be two or three blocks away from the restaurant so they could walk around a little bit before picking up the food.

What he did not account for in his plan, was that the restaurant was in the center of Midtown, which was the well-known shopping district with best stores.

As he realized this, he also realized he was doomed from the start.

Both of the girls squealed and dragged him off, while muttered something about "cruel and unusual punishment" and sighing. Needless to say, they all spent the next half hour seeing how many stores they could hit. What they didn't see, however, was a tall and dark figure effectively tailing them. He smiled to himself and was content to stand in the shadows and gather Intel on the blissfully unaware.

Meanwhile, Crow had very awkwardly been sitting in Victoria's Secret, trying to focus on his Tumblr, when he was tapped on the shoulder by a shapely and attractive blonde girl.

She said, "I'm sorry, but my name is Amber, and I just wanted to ask if you're by any chance related to the Logan's?"

He shyly smiled back, and said, "Yes. They're my parents, actually. I'm-"

"Azar Logan! I knew it!" she squealed, ecstatic that she had guessed right. "Can I get a quick picture for my Insta?"

He was used to the attention, since his father was an actor briefly and then became a well-known and well-respected biological researcher. His mother was also known as a famous author with multiple best-sellers. Plus, there was also the small fact that they were all super heroes. He slightly nodded, and without any further invitation, draped herself over him, and took way more than one selfie with him trying to look normal and smile. When she was finally done, they started talking, and she ended up asking for his number and all his social media accounts, which he falteringly gave. This was not unnoticed by Nightstar, who nudged Hex, and the both started to stomp over to the pair.

Amber was in the middle of speaking, "-yeah, and I was just here to buy some new bras, and…oh…um…" she trailed off, and started to sweat while looking over his shoulder at the two storms of fury armed with gleaming eyes.

He turned around and started to introduce the nervous girl sitting next to him, "Hey guys. This is Amber, we were just-"

"Don't you think the food might be getting a little chilly, hmm, Hex?" Nightstar asked cloyingly.

"Indeed, Nightstar. Perhaps we should leave and go get it?" Hex responded with mock naivety.

At this statement Crow became a little puzzled, "But just a second ago you two didn't want to-" suddenly lightning flashed from the two girls at chibi Crow, who withered as they hit their target, and decided it was wisest to stop talking for the moment .

They both stamped out in a huff with a defeated Crow following them out, as Amber sat and shivered while debating which girl was scarier, the tall one who seemed strong enough to crush rocks with pure rage, or the smaller female with hair as red as blood. She decided it had to be the shorter one, who must have been a demon due to the murderous look in the girl's eyes that clearly stated that she would be slaughtered if she didn't stop talking to her man.

TT

The small Chinese bar and grill had been rather quiet, and aside from an adult couple eating and a few bar patrons, which included an overweight biker and a cloaked man who sat in the dark corner of the bar. The aura of calm was shattered when two crabby girls slammed into the restaurant, already growling the order "Takeout. Ticket number 702." at the hostess, who quickly nodded and quickly retreated to the kitchen. Crow also entered, following the annoyed Nightstar and Hex with a confused frown.

He was currently in the process of saying "Why are you guys mad at me? It's not my fault she wanted to talk, all I did was respond."

Hex glared at him. "And you gave that skank all your social information. Are you positive you don't want to go back and invite her back to the Tower?"

"Don't call Amber a skank, you haven't even met her! Why do you care so much when another girl flirts with me?" at this, Hex realized how angry she had became, and awkwardly spluttered while blushing. However Nightstar came to her rescue, saying

"She was so trashy and shallow! The only reason why she talked to you was because you're slightly attractive and practically famous."

He shook his head. "So you're saying the only reason you are mad is because… you think I can do better?" she was about to respond, but was interrupted by the looming presence of the heavy-set biker, who had been eying them as soon as they entered.

As he attempted to look desirable, he started with "Hey, ladies. How's about we ditch this scene and go have some fun?" he was talking to the girls but continued to ignore Crow. Nightstar eyed him up and down and openly laughed in his face. Hex tried to be kinder and let him down easy, "No, thank you." No reason to not be direct.

The man did not take this well and tried harder while grabbing her shoulder a little roughly.

"C'mon, it'll be fun."

She was about to tell him to back off, but Crow beat her to the punch, figuratively and literally. He jabbed his fist into the biker's jaw, who fell to the ground faster than a sack of potatoes. He grabbed the man's wrist by two pressure points, squeezed, and got in his face while calmly saying, "If you touch my friend again, I won't hesitate to put you in hospital bed. Are we crystal clear?"

After the man nodded fearfully, Crow let him go and started to turn away. However the biker stood, pulled a knife and shouted "I'll fucking kill you, you green freak!"

Then it was Nightstar's turn to react and step in. she sucker-punched him in the gut, and when he bent over, she literally lifted him and threw him out the restaurant and into the street, where he fell unconscious. She gave a small and cheery wave, saying,

"And stay out you racist pervert!" after she shouted out, the three were surprised to hear a cheer rise up from the staff, who told them that he usually got drunk, and almost always made the female staff nervous. They were so grateful that the problem was taken care of, the team was promised free food whenever they wanted, which definitely pleased them. As they left, the stranger from the dark paid his tab and stood up. He smiled as he watched the three teens walk out, matching their expressions.

"Hmm. Interesting."

TT

It was at least the middle of the night when Crow sat up from his bed. He had been tossing and turning and hadn't got a wink of sleep. He had a headache, along with the strange sensation of being watched. He attributed it to late night spooks, paranoia, as well as stress, but it wouldn't hurt to do a quick security sweep, right? Plus he really needed some Tylenol. He was walking by the living room to go into the kitchen for the medicine and some water, but a flashing light from the computer distracted him. His stomach was immediately filled a sense of dread as he approached the screen. He saw that it was a pulsating alert for intruders, but somehow the alarm had been silenced, evident to the protruding cut wires from the monitor. He started to sneak around, fully awake now, and was shocked to immediately find a man in dark garb stalking around the hallway. Following the man, he slowly got out his communicator, which by a miraculous stroke of luck, he had convinced Cypher to design and distribute to the team a few days ago. He sent out a stealth mode text to the team communicators, which would quietly and alert and awake the team. By correspondence between everyone, he found out there were multiple intruders. They nervously but efficiently devised a plan to take out the intruders closest to their various positions. Crow put away his communicator in his pocket, and took a deep and calming breath. _Okay._ He thought to himself, _this is real. Lead your team, remain calm. You can do this._ He rushed out behind the assailant, and drove his right foot in a kick into the man's right kidney to incapacitate him. The enemy let out a surprised grunt of pain, but dropped, rolled forward, and twisted into a fighting stance to face Crow. _Okay. He's trained. Don't drop your guard and get ready._ They went back and forth, block and punch, hand to hand until Crow saw an opening. He feinted, gripped the man's wrist, twisted and Judo-flipped him over his back. As soon as he was on the ground, Crow slammed into a kneeling position on the man's chest, with an arm bar across his throat. He ripped off the attacker's hood…and was shocked to see the familiar sapphire eyes of Nightwing.

"…Uncle Dick?!"

"Uh…Hey there, kiddo!"

TT

After everyone had brought the captured 'intruders' (which turned out to be their collective parents), the old team sat sheepishly on the couch and explained to their children that they were going to try and surprise them with an attack to see if they were prepared for anything, but never expected to be ambushed. This didn't exactly reassure or calm the angry adolescents, who started to shout,

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"You think you can just waltz in with no explanation whatsoever and expect no consequences?"

"I can't believe this."

"You al should be grounded!"

The adults hung their heads in shame, and the team was too tired to deal with it, so they were sent on off home to bed with a promise to talk about in the morning. Cypher however had other ideas, and grabbed Crow.

"I need to talk to you. In private." He looked rather grave and Crow decided it was important enough. As Cypher was booting up his laptop, he plugged in a flash drive and explained

"I secretly found this in my cookie along with my fortune. I didn't want to say anything in front of everybody, but…well, just watch."

A video popped up, showing a man with a mask standing in front of a red backdrop. A warbled and disguised voice was heard.

"Titans. I'm sure you can figure out who I am. I am so excited for the games and adventures we will embark on. I know all of you, but not a single one of you has a slight clue to my identity. I beg of you, keep in mind I am always watching. We'll meet and talk soon enough." The screen went froze, and Crow was caught staring at the sinister shape of the man.

Cypher started with, "Yeah. What do you think? Should we tell the team now, or-"

"No. We can't tell them about this." Crow interjected.

"Um, what? That's insane! They can't be kept in the dark about this!"

We can't tell anyone. Not even our parents…No one can know Slade is back."

"At least not yet."

They looked at each other, hesitated, and silently agreed.

TT

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the second chapter! Tune in next time to walk in a winter wonderland, as well as some whispers of a New Year 's Eve party. Which could mean stolen kisses, new drama, as well as…Titans East?! See y'all soon!


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